Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf continues the second day at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference, which ends on July 16, has brought together more than 5,000 high-level political representatives, including Heads of State and Government, Ministers of Finance,Foreign Affairs, as well as relevant institutional stakeholders, non-governmental organizations and business sector entities, will result in an intergovernmental negotiated and agreed outcome, which should constitute an important contribution to and support the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda to be known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that will shortly succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
According to a dispatch from Addis Ababa, having co-chaired the United Nations High Level Panel as well as the African Union High Level Committee, both focused on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Liberian President provided a rare insight on many issues facing the world in its quest to embark on a new development agenda that would leave no-one behind.
Speaking at the opening of the Conference, organized at the behest of the United Nations and the World Bank, President Sirleaf stressed that the decisions reached in the Ethiopian capital will build upon the significant gains made in the last 15 years through unprecedented cooperation amongst nations. The Liberia leader said because of the strong partnership between developing countries and their international partners, there has been enormous progress in developing countries around the world, undergirded by the MDGs.
She said in sub-Saharan Africa alone - malaria mortality has been cut nearly in half since 2000; AIDS-related deaths fell by one-third in just eight years between 2005 and 2013; the mortality rate for children under five has fallen by nearly half since 1990, literally saving millions of lives every year; and primary school enrollments have jumped from 52 percent to 77 percent since 1990, with the biggest increases for girls.
President Sirleaf also indicated that primary school enrollments for girls are now almost at parity with boys, which is a huge difference from 25 years ago; the share of people in sub-Saharan Africa living in extreme poverty has fallen from 61 percent in 1993 to 47 percent in 2011; in more than half the countries across the region, average incomes are more than 50 percent higher than they were in 1990.
She observed that very few people would have believed back in 2000 that this kind of progress was possible but alluded to what Nelson Mandela once said: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” She noted that much has happened and we have continued the dialogue of the Monterey Consensus and Doha Declaration as well as reached agreement and encountered challenges on many issues in the past but we have rarely attained the kind of hard earned political willingness to reach a consensus to conclude the global compact in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda that is before us today.
President Sirleaf challenged the conference noting that “As we reach agreement on how to finance the new development objectives and goals, we must go beyond the old divisions that always stood in the way of achieving what we set ourselves to accomplish.” She underscored that it was imperative to nurture the potential for win-win solutions, which the Addis Ababa Action Agenda holds; adding, we have the means to do this and it can be done.
She expressed determination about the need to take new measures to ensure that whatever wealth is derived from the continent goes to make life better for our people. This, according to her - is why in the Common African Position, we put emphasis on issues that have to do with local capacity and domestic resources, governance, accountability and the involvement of all in the exploitation and distribution of our resources.
Said President Sirleaf: “Our vision of a new development agenda is based on a transformative economic order; a people centered agenda; care for the planet, gender equality, technology transfer and a new global partnership that takes into account the special needs of least developed countries”. These ideals, she stressed are reflected in the sustainable development goals and in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda that is before us.
“Financing for Development must not be seen through the narrow prism of aid, it must not be construed as gifts that the rich give to the poor. It must encompass mechanisms that bring together the resources from all who benefit from our planet’s endowment,” she pointed out, adding, “This is a compact that departs from developed to underdeveloped, from north or south but as one humanity with one destiny. As a global community we must find a way to resolve issues of trade, taxes, environment and partnership.”
She then made a clarion call that the new world order should leave nobody behind, noting we must ensure that everyone contributes to the process – private sector, academia, foundations and civil society, media all have a contribution to make.
President Sirleaf described the SDGs in its current form as bold, innovative and ambitious and clearly represent the aspirations of the people the world over. She however cautioned “good the intentions may be, as the MDG experience shows, implementation is the key”. Capacity, she pointed out - opens the door; enables us to tackle and resolve issues that stand in the way of a truly global partnership and help us to move beyond the divisions that have plagued our world.
Said Madam Sirleaf: “We now face the test and the challenge to bring the many years of research, dialogue, analysis and negotiations to successful conclusion by adopting the Addis Agenda”. She challenged world leaders to take decisions that will change the world, to confront our fears and lay the foundation for a new just world based on mutual respect, acknowledging the strength in our diversity and working hand in hands to eradicate poverty. The Liberian leader later spoke at the Malaria Financing for a New Era: An Exceptional Case for Investment, where she outlined progress made in Liberia in the fight against malaria while underscoring the challenges faced by her country.
She also attended and spoke at the launch of a New Global Initiative that is focused on women, children and adolescents with specific emphasis on young women. In her statement, President Sirleaf highlighted the challenges faced by young women in Liberia and how they are victimized by a social construct that forces them to leave school at an early age, due to marriage or pregnancy or to help their mothers to support their families.
The Global Financing Facility is a new program launched by the World Bank and the UN Secretary General to help women have access to health care, education and job training. The Liberian Chief Executive put much emphasis on the role played by women who stood at the frontline as healthcare workers during the Ebola epidemic to which many felt victims.
Later, President Sirleaf met with the head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to discuss Liberia’s membership into the global trade organization. She also held meetings with the U.S. Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew who led the U.S. Government’s delegation; several other dignitaries, including the U.N. Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon; President of the World Bank, Dr. Jim Yong Kim; Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta as well as the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn.
Set out in UN General Assembly resolutions 68/204 and 68/279, the Conference is focusing on assessing the progress made in the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration and identifying obstacles and constraints encountered in the achievement of the goals and objectives agreed therein, as well as actions and initiatives to overcome these constraints. The Conference is looking at reinvigorating and strengthening the financing for development follow-up process. President Sirleaf, neanwhile, is expected back home on Wednesday, July 15.
Source: frontpageafricaonline.com
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